2010-10-18 Regular City Council Session

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would be removing black people and the continuation of good services, to make it whiter. He said if U City puts a lien on your house, you may have more of a chance but when an out- sourced waste management company comes through here, there will be no sympathy or pity and they will take your property and everything they can get. Mr. Dockett encouraged the citizens to raise their righteous indignation. Maurice Karzin, 814 Pennsylvania Mr. Karzin was present to report a neighbor’s illegal fence along the edge of the sidewalk, blocking off the entrance to his front yard. He felt it to be dangerous with the spindles on top and could injure someone if they tripped and fell. Mayor Welsch said the City Manager will follow-up and advise him of his findings. Rory Ellinger, 6925 Cornell Mr. Ellinger congratulated Mr. Rayhawk on his appointment to the L.C.R.A. as he greatly enjoyed his experience while on this board. He also offered his congratulations to Dr. Sherraden. Mr. Ellinger said he was present to request the City to determine if there was a meeting using a City officer’s time, that in fact was a political rally, or in fact was used at least in part for a political candidate. If it is true, he would hope the City Attorney, at the direction of the Council and Mr. Walker, would investigate that, as it would be a violation of City code and therefore in violation of the Missouri Ethics Commission code, which candidates must hold themselves to. Mayor Welsch asked Mr. Walker to follow up on it. Mae. Etta Weston, 1595 Mendell Ms. Weston said she was present to talk about respect, common courtesy, professional civility, tension, fear and hope. She was dismayed over the tone and disrespect shown to employees and citizens by some Council members. She noted that when citizens are interested enough to participate, listen and attend meetings, they deserve to be addressed in a respectful manner and deserve an answer to their questions. Ms. Weston stated she was treated in a dismissive and disrespectful fashion by a Councilmember when she asked a question at the Budget study session. She is awaiting an apology. Ms. Weston said the residents were told that outsourcing was being looked at and will be done only if it saves money and provides better service. The goal was to restructure without eliminating any employees who are direct providers to our citizens. There is a fear that fifteen Public Works positions will be eliminated with outsourcing Trash/Recycling. Ms. Weston appreciated the public hearings and hoped that the citizens ideas and suggestions are given appropriate consideration. Marva Miller, 1224 Fairview Ave. Ms. Miller stated that outsourcing the Public Works department is a bad idea. It will impact Seniors in a negative way. Seniors who are able to call the Public Works department or contact their Councilmember will not be able to contact them for help, as to call and ask for a missed trash pickup or whatever their need might be at the time. She said there are many disabled and to outsource it would devastate them. Ms. Miller stated U City has a valuable asset for commercial entities to come into our area and dump their trash. We need to maximize that to increase the revenue. She said we need to increase revenue, not by increasing property tax, but revenue generations in different areas that we can garner additional funds. Ms. Miller did not want to see fifteen people put on the streets as in the IT department and Human Resources Department. She felt it was an outrage that the City did not give them appropriate severances. Ms. Miller said that cutting is not an appropriate response to cutting the budget. She agreed with Ms. Weston about the lack of civility in the way citizens are treated, as she has never heard citizens being told that they would be put out of a meeting because they were whispering 2